Face to face with /// We Are Lost Boys

The year 2012 has been an important year for Reading quartet We Are Lost Boys. The band have gained strength and made a lot of noise on the UK music scene. I talked to the band’s drummer Stuart Collyer about how life has been treating We Are Lost Boys lately.

– A lot has been happening in the camp of We Are Lost Boys recently. New EP ‘Life’, signing to A Wolf At Your Door Records, new video for ‘Old Street’ and a tour ahead. Sounds exciting and busy! How are you getting to grips with all these changes?

– It’s an exciting time, at the tail end of ‘Making Memories’ venturing into recording ‘Life’ things were very messy with losing our old guitarist, It would be the case of going into the studio one day he would be with us and the next he wouldn’t, I seem to remember Danny doing most of the guitar parts for ‘Life’. Now it’s all recorded and we have replaced our guitarist with the new addition Matt Lavender we are back up to speed. We were so happy that A Wolf At Your Door Records have been paying attention to what we have been up to and to be part of the family alongside the likes of Hildamay, Polar and Mallory Knox we have been around those bands on the circuits and at festivals and they are all very promising British bands.

– Your EP ‘Life’ is out. How do you feel about the record?

– Really excited it’s been getting great reviews and we just can’t wait to get out and tour it.
We approached this EP with a open mind to our influences as individuals. We spent way too long back at home to get things ready for the release. We still wanted to maintain working with Sitcom Soldiers and Outhouse Studios for videos and recording which really slowed us down financing without the guitarist at the time.

– In what way, do you think, you’ve changed since the release of ‘Making Memories’?

– With this EP when we have been working on songs we have been thinking about the tracks as a whole. We don’t want to over think our music too much. We feel our results are better without picking our way through the tracks and being like we have to make sure this parts put in.

– How did the recordings go this time concerning you’d already had the experience of recording your previous EP?

– John Mitchell and Ben Humphreys are great to work with; we have spent a lot of time in
Outhouse Studios. They do make the experience less painful. I like the way they work. We have been in studios where the producers more interested in his phone calls always ducking out the studio. When you’re paying by the day you don’t want him nipping out to call his manager all the time, we called a past one out on that.

-Any lessons learnt from that session?

– Don’t book a recording session straight after Reading Festival. I totally forgot bank holiday Monday and was running around like a mad man getting spares for the studio time.

– The December tour is coming closer. How are you preparing for the shows?

– We have a permanent studio space now for rehearsals which has been great. Not having to worry about squeezing our practices into a certain time frame is great. Bar tightening our set we have been hammering out new videos to really build hype around the tour.

– What are the music specialities you’re going to treat your audiences to during these shows?

– It’s going to be ‘Life’ heavy but we still have key tracks we play from ‘Making Memories’ plus the usual stage banter between the band.

– Is it important for you which atmosphere you create music in?

– Yeah we have had sessions where we just aren’t on the same page and things don’t seem to work. You all need to be in the right frame of mind for a track to really fire up.

– How does it influence the sound/the mood of the track or it doesn’t really matter?

– I’d say our mood during the session doesn’t really affect the song. We like to keep songs up beat and filled with energy.

– Where do you draw inspirations for your song’s lyrics-wise?

– Danny reflects a lot our experiences of currently being in our band, It’s tough balancing day jobs and squeezing as much time per week to put into moving the band forward. Also pervious experiences Danny has had with growing up.

– What inspired you to set up the band in the first place?

– Before this Danny Wright and myself had a band called DissolvedIN which was really spawned on my our love for music. We both were playing in different bands within the Reading music scene but they were basically just fun bands nothing serious but after a few drunken hang outs we decided start something together. Danny and myself love Blink 182 we are fan boys when it comes to that band. I’d say they were the main influence that got us into a rehearsal room together.

– So far, what do you think was the most important event in We Are Lost Boys’ career?

– Building the band to gain a slot on the Kerrang Introducing Stage at Slam Dunk Festival was the one. We have been attending that festival every year when it was up in just Leeds. Also Hevy Festival they were both great festivals. We want them all in 2013.

– What differs you from other bands and makes you and only you stand out, as you see it?

– We like to think that our approach to our songs makes us stand out, we write songs with no boundaries, we love pop songs, we love rock, we love hip hop, we have a broad music taste and we are not afraid to show that in our music. This EP is quite a straight up, rock record, but going forward we are ourselves evolving a lot musically.

– Some say that at the beginning of any endeavour to stay afloat, remain motivated is not easy at times because of obstacles or difficulties. What fuels you, keeps you going and rushes you forward?

– Yeah before we started gaining the interest of labels it really was tough, you have to have a burning desire to make it work. It challenges your thoughts on life. I personally have a lot of friends who have gone into looking to get houses and build more secure relationships with their partners. It’s hard for me to remain thinking that I’ll be doing these day jobs forever I’ve tasted the road a lot over the last few years and this is my calling. The bands the only thing I respect the achievements that we have achieved. There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from our fans they have really helped us.

– Which bands are your biggest musical influences and in what way have they influenced you, apart from the musical side of the thing?

– We have been influenced by loads of bands; we like to hear the struggle to the top as it were. I think there is a good group of bands within our current scene that we are friends with that we are following closely seeing each other achieve different things.

– What’s your take on your local music scene?

– It’s good we have some good venues and taste makers keeping things exciting, we have Sub 89 in reading which is getting some great tours being brought to Reading. Face Bar is a great place for the new talent to get there stage bearings.

– What are your highlights of 2012 – concerning We Are Lost Boys and the music scene on the whole?

– Finishing the EP ‘Life’ was the main achievement it wasn’t easy with all the changes in the band but we were so glad to have A.W.A.Y.D behind us now, hopefully before the end of the year we will have a full team behind us for taking on 2013.

– What can we expect from We Are Lost Boys in the near future?

– I feel this EP will take us into festival season hopefully we shall have been in the studio at some point in 2013 we are doing a full length with A.W.A.Y.D but it’s all about ‘Life’ and touring to start with.